colindalaska's review against another edition

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3.0

This starts off well, and Arkham and Hex make a fun but unlikely pairing but the plot gets more ludicrous, and it’s not helped by the iffy supporting stories.

ogreart's review against another edition

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4.0

I enjoyed the way the author, Gray, worked back story of Gotham into the plot. And I also found myself enjoying the other stories, which did not feature Hex and Arkham. I thought that the character of Arkham was a little too stereotypical. But he did provide some needed comedy relief.

dantastic's review against another edition

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4.0

This collects All-Star Western #1-6.

I read most of this at lunch. I assume editorial direction resulted in moving Jonah to Gotham and having some multi-part adventures. It's still a lot of fun but the prior Jonah Hex series was great because it was done in one westerns. Gray and Palmiotti haven't lost a step despite Jonah being in Gotham. I love the art by Moritat.

Anyway, Jonah comes to Gotham for a bounty and winds up with additional work. Amadeus Arkham chronicles his adventures. Jonah and Amadeus go up against the usual roughnecks plus the followers of the Religion of Crime plus some slavers. There's a lot of fun mayhem and Jonah capping people but he feels out of place in Gotham. Fortunately, he's headed to New Orleans in the next volume so we'll see how that plays out.

peter_xxx's review against another edition

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3.0

I read a lot of the pre new 52 jonah hex trades by Palmioti and Gray and I really liked those. So naturaly I did pick up the new 52 jonah hex series by those two. Jonah Hex has by editorial decree relocated to Gotham city and solves murders, finds criminals and rescues people over there. He is allied with doc Arkham, an early adaptor to psychology and scientific ways to crimesolving.

I liked the jonah hex in gotham story less than I liked the pre 52 run of jonah hex. I feel that there is something missig in this story. It all boils down to much to a bastard from the west collapsing with eastern city mentality. I'm also not impressed by the artwork by Moritat. For some reason it seems like a rush job to me. I would give the jonah hex story a 2.5 star rating.

But as you can see I gave the book a 3 star rating. That is because this collection also has the backup stories that appeared in the original comicbooks, and those are very good. They are stories about other western themed heroes and here Palmiotti and Gray showcase what made their pre new 52 jonah hex run so great. Especially the barbary ghost is a great revenge story.

bpol's review against another edition

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4.0

Interesting to see a take on 1880s Gotham.

thestylishreader's review against another edition

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3.0

Jonah Hex and Doctor Arkham? A Sherlock and Watson feel, with abit more angst, violence, and a few more weirdos. Story was great! Art? For being done by the same artist, the style seems to jump around quite a bit. As for the add-ons with El Diablo and Barbary Ghost, I enjoy the idea and the feel it gives the book overall, making it seem more like an actual All-Star Western Comic rather than some continuity-filled cosmic fling, as with many modern trades. The story for the Barbary Ghost, however, was annoying for a history major like myself..... oh well. 3.5 out of 5 Stars from me!

pdz's review against another edition

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2.0

I apparently read this back in 2013 and forgot about it. I can see why. There's a certain appeal with Jonah and Arkham, but ultimately it seems like it lacks teeth. Hex kills the bad guys and deadpans well enough, Arkham plays a version of Dr.Watson, basically.

Does anyone find those Diablo and Barbary Ghost stories enjoyable? The art was terrible and the writing was floundering.

Apologies to the creators if it seems like I'm heaping it on. This was just not my thing.

thetarantulalounge's review

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3.0

I like comic books, and I like westerns, but I haven’t read many comic book westerns. I was recently browsing my local library and stumbled upon DC’s All Star Western series, so of course I had to give it a go. This trade paperback provides a lot of bang for the buck. You get an entire Jonah Hex in Gotham story, as well as stories featuring The Barbary Ghost and El Diablo. Finally, the back pages feature sketches of all of the main characters.

I didn’t fall in love with All Star Western, but it’s a fun library series. The writers placing Jonah Hex in Gotham makes a fun mashup. One of my favorite parts of DC’s lore is the hellish nature of Gotham – there’s just something so sick and haunted about that particular piece of geography. Hex is the right guy to fight fire with fire. In this story, he teams up with Dr. Arkham to solve some mysterious disappearances of children.

I love the art. The colors and the heavy ink remind me of a continental comic more than the sparseness you might expect in a western. It works because of the oppressive nature of Gotham and the genuine scariness of some of the bad guys in the book.

While i did enjoy the main story, I enjoyed the extras featuring The Barbary Ghost (an immigrant in San Francisco facing the mob) and El Diablo (western zombies) just as much, if not more.

This series won’t end up in my permanent collection, but I do intend to keep reading.

3.5/5 Stars

booknooknoggin's review

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3.0

New 52 of Jonah Hex...in Gotham. was okay.
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